Many has been the time a new client has come to the gym having either just completed a series of rehab sessions to help overcome an injury or because a health professional had indicated they needed to start exercising.
One of the common elements within that recommendation was probably to start a walking program.
Walking is primarily cardiovascular/cardiopulmonary in nature, meaning its focus is on the heart, lungs and circulatory system. Most definitely, these are key physical components of the body that should be addressed on a regular basis. The short list of benefits are stress relief, improved endurance, increased mobility and lower resting heart rate, which are all positives.
What I want to address within this column is to explain why it is more of a starting point to a person’s return to better health and not the be-all and end-all that many assume it represents.

No window shopping
When I see people walking in the community, all too often they appear to be on a leisurely stroll around the block, carrying on conversations either on their phone or with their co-walker. Now, if you have not exercised for a long time or are coming off an injury, the early phase is to see how your body responds, so, in the beginning, taking it easy is recommended. But, after those first few weeks, the justification for walking transitions from getting fresh air and stretching your legs to “pushing the envelope.”
By the end of that first 30 days, the focus should be to gradually increase the pace. Your heart is one big muscle (a smooth muscle differentiated from a skeletal muscle) and, by increasing the heart rate, you are essentially strength training your heart. The result is a higher volume of oxygen and nutrients can now be delivered to your body with each beat. You want to challenge yourself to the point where carrying on a conversation becomes problematic.

The rest of the story
If you have succeeded in incorporating a walking protocol for over three months, the gains should be felt in several areas. You’ve set a good pace and are consistent in your efforts. You are definitely pleased with having stuck with the program. Do you now think you have taken care of the exercise portion of the health equation? If so, hold your horses because we have another liability to address.
As mentioned earlier, your walking discipline tackles your concerns in regards to the heart, lungs and circulatory system, but, what about your muscles, your tendons, your ligaments and your skeletal structure? While it is true that you are engaging each of those components with each step, the level of challenge for those 4 essential body parts is very low.

Why strength
training?
Remember that your walking consists of thousands of steps. The central result is to have your body be capable of traveling over distances as you gain your cardio benefits, but there is very little improvement in the way of enhanced strength. Let me give you an example to clarify this point.
Imagine you begin doing bicep curls with five-pound dumbbells. You start with one session consisting of a set of 10 repetitions, a one-minute rest then another set of 10 repetitions. You continue to progress the challenge, consistently performing two sessions every week. Over a three-month time frame you are very likely to have been able to build up your workout to three sets consisting of 10 reps, 20 reps and 30 reps respectively (a very reasonable outcome).You have advanced enough to where you can now pick up a 15-pound dumbbell and perform a bicep curl five or more times…right? Actually, no. Since your muscle/tendon complex has not experienced anything higher than a five-pound level of challenge, trying to jump to a threefold increase in resistance will be more than a little difficult and could result in straining something.

Balanced approach
The above example is a reminder that walking is performed by taking thousands of steps. Muscle endurance is what you are achieving, not strength, or at least not anywhere near the strength levels that the human body is capable of. If one of your objectives is to build your muscles, tendons, ligaments and bone structure, this high repetition design will not allow you to reach that goal.
Another example: There are many of you who have been diligent in maintaining a regular walking practice for years, maybe decades. Congratulations! One question: has taking the stairs to the second (or third) floor become easier over time? I suspect not. Why? If all you are doing for your health is walking, you likely have less muscle mass today than you did several years ago. And that process will accelerate as you age.
The point I am trying to make is, if your exercise program focuses on cardio to the detriment of strength training, you are putting a limit on who you are and what you can do going forward. A strong physical body is critical for your future. If you neglect this point, you will ultimately jeopardize even your walking. Good luck and good health!
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Rick Almand can train you out of Anytime Fitness (Winder and Auburn locations) or in the privacy of your home. He can be contacted at 404-312-9206 or Rick@UltimateBest.net. His website is BabyBoomersSurvivalGuide.net.

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